A Twingo and a prayer - What's on offer?

There’s no doubt that, in the UK at least, the Mini is the car Renault has in its sights. In France there’ll be a full range spanning the cheap ‘n’ cheerful (the market the old Twingo satisfied so well) to the brisk, but the UK will take just two high-end models. There’s a 75bhp 1.2 in semi-sporty Dynamique trim, and the 100bhp 1.2 turbo GT featuring Renault’s new Turbo Control Efficiency (TCE) engine.

Expect the Dynamique to come in at around £9000 to take on the Citroen C2, with the GT as a £10,000-plus rival for the Mini One.

The new Twingo first showed its face as a concept car at last September’s Paris motor show, so it’s a bit disappointing to find that the real thing is less adventurous. At least the versions heading for the UK are slightly more racy than the base models on sale in Europe.

Both have a sportier front bumper and grille, gloss black headlamp masks and satin grey foglamp surrounds and door mirror casings. The GT has an aluminium-effect rear spoiler, branded sills and bumpers, a chrome exhaust tailpipe and body-colour side protection strips. The Dynamique rides on 14-inch wheels with unique trims and the GT on 15-inch alloys.

A range of decals for the door handles, side pillars, doors, front wings and rear side panels will allow owners to customise the car. Inside, the Dynamique has orange upholstery stitching while the GT comes with leather steering wheel and gearlever grips and the option of darker-tinted windows. Both have a rev counter.